Ballymena £2m lottery winners celebrate

Published Thursday, 16 August 2012
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The Ballymena husband and wife who scooped £2m in the Euromillions lottery draw have revealed that their windfall was due to forgetting a family birthday.

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Paddy and Gail Millar's numbers came up on Friday - but they somehow managed to keep the news of their big win under wraps until now.

The delighted couple revealed their identity - and picked up their cheque - at a press conference on Thursday at the Galgorm Resort and Spa in the Co Antrim town.

Their winnings were just £6,000 short of £2m at £1,994,322.90.

Paddy told UTV that he cried when Camelot confirmed their huge windfall over the phone.

"The tears were tripping me, the adrenaline just was going."

Despite seeing the numbers come up on Friday, he didn't check his numbers properly until two days after the TV draw.

Then, it dawned on him that they had won by mistake - one of his lucky digits was actually the wrong age for his wife. Gail is 49 - but Paddy picked the number 48 accidently much to their good fortune.

He added: "On Sunday, I checked my numbers and on the very last line was five numbers and one lucky star. I was on my own at the time, sitting in the car. I just couldn't believe that I had six numbers out of seven."

Paddy said that he looked up the numbers again on the TV, before ringing Camelot for confirmation.

He didn't tell Gail though until the following day and she didn't believe him at first.

It wasn't the first time he had announced that he'd won the lottery - to later find out that it was only a few pounds.

Gail told UTV that she still "can't get her head around" their big win.

"As Paddy says, there's been a lot of jokes. He does joke a lot about things and he's well known for it.

"I didn't even see the ticket until Camelot took it away, " she said, laughing.

The new millionaires, who have two daughters aged 11 and 17, are both nurses.

Gail has worked night shifts for the last ten years in order to care for the girls by day. She described their win as "lifechanging."

The delighted mum said that she hoped the public would be pleased for them because they work hard.

"We've both worked as nurses for 30 years plus," she said, before adding that the money would "secure the future" for their girls.

"We have a very good life as it is at the minute - there's nothing wrong with our life - but we certainly will have a better life with £2million."

The only thing on Gail's wishlist at present is maybe a new car.

© UTV News
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12 Comments
Iseult in NI wrote (306 days ago):
I don't know Paddy and Gail, but from all the comments here they sound like a great couple, the sort of people who really deserve their good fortune. So headiest congratulations and I hope they and their family have a great time spending their winnings!
yvonne & stephen mccoy in toome wrote (307 days ago):
Congratulations Paddy, all delighted that you won the lottery couldnt of happened to a nicer man dont give up nursing because you are a great nurse. Enjoy!!
norman.d in bangor wrote (307 days ago):
good luck to this couple hope they keep their feet on the ground and dont get carried away with their win and splash their money away like some have done
ballymoney nurses in ballymoneyn wrote (307 days ago):
Well done Paddy and Gail , Couldn't have happened to nicer nurses or people doing a better job for all out there, no matter who they are. Well done and enjoy.
good luck to them in belfast wrote (307 days ago):
i wish both of you all the best, from reading comments from people that know you your a nice couple, good luck and enjoy it.
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